By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Victoria Shay’s fourth straight Mercer County diving title didn’t come easily., The Hun School senior defended her county title and captured her fourth straight crown with her highest score yet. But at the same time, she faced her toughest competition in four years as well., “It was really rewarding,” said Shay, who will compete in the Eastern championships next weekend. “The competition has increased each year which has pushed me to increase my skills. I have been working for this and to earn it four straight years is a great honor., “Each year my scores have increased and this year it was close. The competition is really great, which is good to see. I was happy I was able to win.”, Shay finished with a score of 245.24, which put her ahead of Elena Li of West Windsor-Plainsboro South, who finished with a score of 225.22. The Pirates placed four other divers in the top 10 for the girls, as Courtney Kraft was fourth (185.70), Lindsey Walter finished fifth (183.53), Catherine Kenney was sixth (178.80) and Lillie Widmayer was eighth (160.13). The Pirates also captured the co-ed team title., “It was a balanced competition with great divers,” Shay said. “Everyone is super supportive at the competitions and that is something I enjoy.”, Shay, who dives for the Blue Dolphins club team our of The College of New Jersey, will cap off her Hun career at Easterns, where she was second last year., “This one is an 11-dive meet ,so it is a little more challenging,” she said. “The competition is great. It’s one of the bigger meets that I look forward to and practice hard for. There are schools from all over, not just New Jersey, so the competition is a lot harder. iIt is really interesting each year and a unique group of divers that I compete with that are all really talented.”, In the Skyland Conference/Somerset County meet, which was held the same night, Annie Hathaway of Montgomery finished second with a score of 277.87. She trailed Alexandra Beran of Ridge. The Cougars also took third through sixth with Jackie Swick, Angela Zhou, Rei Miyauchi, and Katie Parsons finishing behind Hathaway., The Cougars’ Dan Soper was third in the Skyland/Somerset boys meet. Goutham Yalla of WW-P North was ninth in the Mercer boys meet.
